We were able to visit both boys yesterday. We were somewhat concerned about what reaction we may get. We had such great first visits that we were worried about visit two. There was no reason for the concern.
We met with Sutton first. When we arrived, the caregivers stated that he did not want to participate in his morning exercises because he knew we were coming and he just wanted to wait for us. The caregivers said this was unusual because he always follows all instructions, never complains, and seldom cries. They got to see a bit of all of those. We took this as a good attachment to us - but I worry about our leaving him for 2 - 3 months until our court date. When they brought him to the room, he entered the cafeteria with a shy but big smile. He had been waiting, and you could tell he was happy, but still very shy. I was in the room meeting with the doctor, orphanage director and speech therapist rattling off questions. Bryan took Sutton and began blowing bubbles with him. It only took about 3-5 minutes before he began warming up and smashing the bubbles. I think he was a bit taken back by the doctors, etc. in the room. We found that we really do have an athletic boy on our hands. Instead of using a beach ball today, we used a soft cush ball the size of a baseball. Bryan and Sutton began rolling it back to each other. Sutton wouldn’t catch it and then roll it back – no. He swatted at it on the roll back and forth – great eye-hand coordination. Then they began kicking the small ball back and forth – I can’t even kick a ball that small on the roll! Then it was off to a game of catch. He made some 2 handed and 1 handed catches – so, along with Soccer – it looks like baseball might be something we need to try right away. When we took him back to his room, he was once again sad. He gets very quiet when he is sad and does not like to make eye contact. He did not want to go into the room. We said our goodbyes. Sutton enjoyed our family picture book – however, I think he had difficulty with the concept of aunts, uncles, and cousins. That is ok – we just want him to have some face recognition.
Then it was off to see Sawyer. When we entered his classroom, he immediately had a smile and held out a hand to me. The caregiver wanted to make sure he had a fresh diaper on, and then it was off to the playground. I guess it is this way with all kids this age (because I have seen it so often), but Sawyer was much more interested in sticks, dirt, and mud than the toys that we brought. He watched Bryan blow bubbles, and then decided that he needed more action than that. He picked up a stick and he played with it the entire time. He seems to be in the stage of trying to figure out how things work. He wanted to take apart many of the toys, see how he could fit the stick through various holes in the playground, take pictures out the book, etc. I think we will need to buy more puzzles and toys that he can take apart and put back together. Sawyer was filthy when we finally finished at the playground. He had played a bit with the beach ball – that was bigger than he is. He would lean over the ball to pick it up and end up rolling over the ball head first. He had about 3 nose dives, but never cried. He did miss a step, and tumbled on the play area. He made a cry. I picked him up and hugged him tight. He hugged me back – about 10 seconds later, all was good and he wanted to be on the move again. When we got him cleaned up, we went back to the room. He was taken by a caregiver. I told him bye, kissed his hands, he smiled. We then left. It is harder each day to leave.
We will see both boys tomorrow, sign off on our agreement to adopt with a notary, and then pack to come home. It will be a very difficult day. I think Sawyer will be fine, but I worry about Sutton waiting for us each day and us not being able to be there. I will just have to trust that the caregivers will go over his picture book daily so that he knows that we will be back as soon as we can. Love to all – we will let you know how the last day goes.
